EU President Herman Van Rompuy says a decision by the European Union on whether to grant Serbia candidate status will be made in February. A decision originally had been expected at the EU summit on December 9.

However, new unrest on the tense north Kosovo border last month led a handful of EU nations, notably Germany, to demand further progress.

Van Rompuy said at the EU summit in Brussels that Serbia has made "considerable progress" by arresting Europe's most wanted war crimes suspects and delivering them to international justice.